Foreign aid categories: The key figures in global giving

WASHINGTON, February 12, 2018: Diplomacy takes shape in a number of different forms. Foreign aid being chief among them. The average citizen is often unaware of the impact of foreign aid because they are disconnected from a process that affects them only indirectly.

The truth is foreign aid improves global health standards across the board, and that makes the world a better place to live in. It is sometimes difficult to justify government expenditures on foreign aid while any of its own citizens are in poverty. The truth is the amount spent on foreign aid is nominal, the benefit, however, astronomical.

Foreign Aid programs cost the U.S. Government as much as 365 billion per year, but it is money well spent. According to Five things you need to know about foreign aid by Concern USA.org , two-thirds of foreign aid is managed by the State Department or related agencies like USAID.

Foreign aid is given in more than just dollars, it also provides political, development, and humanitarian assistance.

Assistance can take many forms including food distributions in famine zones to assisting in rebuilding following a natural disaster.

Foreign aid saves over 17 million lives

With the direction of President Trump, State Department, Treasury officials and other key executive personnel, including Agriculture, are working simultaneously creating foreign aid programs designed to relieve global poverty, including its economic inefficiencies.

Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, met with United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Gutierrez to help protect Christians and Yedizis currently in Iraq, displaying a clear positive shift toward a more multilateral policy development agenda.[1]

The World Economic Forum says every year global governments spend 17.6 billion to ensure human rights protections. An increase in 400 million over previous year expenditures.

US, our globes largest giver, distributes foreign aid in four main categories: How Does the U.S. Spend Its Foreign Aid? CFR backgrounder April 2017

Political Aid

Long Term Development Aid

Humanitarian Aid

Military and Security Aid

11%

38%

16%

35%

Source CFR

Foreign aid is paving a path to more stable communities around the world.

Increasing opportunities for trade, travel, and exploration, the benefit of foreign aid programs it is not immediate for the donor country. Recipient countries, however, inevitably become allies as they fuel the demand for economic development.

That global strategic positioning is priceless.

Government support for foreign aid programs is critical for infrastructure development in emerging economies. Bringing food, medical aid, access to clean drinking water are all essential support programs.

Other programs provide job training, agriculture assistance, education, and more. However, each works to ensure basic human needs are available to those that live in the most underdeveloped countries.

Five of the basic reasons to support foreign aid programs are as follows:

1. Improving global economic forecasts

Globalization, post-economic recession, requires considerably larger foreign aid appropriations to further implementation targets for human rights improvements, for the most vulnerable global populations with a growing and greater diversity of needs, forward. Setting goals for projects like space habitation and complete global technological integration are important.

3. Changing technological landscape

Technological advances make construction, utility delivery, even implementation of social service programs like health assessments and nutrition development an ever-changing landscape that creates a new base to begin lifting the barriers to achieving better, stable living conditions across the globe.

4. Increasing global safety threats

Terror networks like Al Qaeda and ISIS are actually an ongoing plot to destabilize governments and democracy along with economic development and international prosperity.

5. Stability

Altogether, fluctuations in aid levels have a significant impact on emerging economies. Aid must be ongoing until goals of self-sufficiency are met.

These reasons are some of the overlooked issues that governments in developed economies contemplate when determining foreign aid funding appropriations. The benefit of foreign aid is never a one to one correlations from a donor countries perspective.

The impact, however, of each dollar spent has a multiplier effect to the recipient economy.

Kerry Baynes is currently a Masters Candidate at Bloomfield College New Jersey. As a research assistant for the New Jersey State Senate, he was responsible for research on economic, budget/fiscal issues, and the impact of tax policy. He served as a Media Strategist for Garry Cobb For Congress, in 2014 and Giordano for Assembly, in 2015. Since 2006, he acted as Manager of Alpha Strategy Group, an Urban Media Company. Currently an Associate at World Financial Group (WFG), he works to build and protect wealth for families and individuals from all walks of life.